Aussie Jingle Bells and Merry Christmas

PublishedDecember 24, 2011

Best wishes to you all for Christmas season and for a prosperous and healthy 2012. The blog will close for around ten days. The photo shows the superb Christmas light show using St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney as a backdrop.

To help celebrate Christmas, I have included the words of an Australian version of Jingle Bells sung to the familiar tune, by successful Irish-born Australia singer and songwriter, Colin Buchanan.

It highlights the strange contrast of Christmas being associated with snow and wintry weather while falling in the middle of the Australian summer. Below the song are the explanations of a handful of Australian words that you may not be familiar with (marked with an asterisk).

Aussie Jingle Bells

Dashing through the bush,in a rusty Holden(*) Ute (*),Kicking up the dust,esky(*) in the boot,Kelpie(*) by my side,singing Christmas songs,It’s Summer time and I am inmy singlet, shorts and thongs(*)

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!(*),Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Engine’s getting hot;we dodge the kangaroos,The swaggie(*) climbs aboard,he is welcome too.All the family’s there,sitting by the pool,Christmas Day the Aussie way,by the barbecue.

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Come the afternoon,Grandpa has a doze,The kids and Uncle Bruce,are swimming in their clothes.The time comes ’round to go,we take the family snap,Pack the car and all shoot through,before the washing up.

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

GlossaryHolden: Australian brand of General Motorsute: utility vehicleesky: portable plastic cooler box (brand name derived from shortening eskimo)kelpie: Australian breed of sheep dogthongs: open footwear sometimes called flip-flops (or jandles in New Zealand!!)beaut: slang for very goodswaggie: slang for swagman, a transient rural worker (farmhand, shearer, miner or other) who carried everything in a bedroll moving from place to place (or swag)

My name is Mark and I’m a keen traveller. In fact, over the last 25 years, I’ve travelled to every continent and over 80 countries. This blog is about the most memorable destinations – the places I regard as the travel wonders of the world. I’m also a keen photographer, and have taken nearly all the photos you’ll see. During my travels, I’ve met some incredible people, seen inspiring places, viewed extraordinary wildlife and scenery and had some amazing experiences, and I’m writing these stories not only to entertain but primarily to inspire others to discover their own travel wonders.